Machine for forming upper of boots and shoes.



I. W. BLANCHARD.

MACHINE FOR FORMING UPPERS 0F BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.21, 1914.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

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Fig. 3.

WT/VESSES COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0.,WASH1NGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES FATE g FIG.

IRVING W. BLANCHARD, 013 BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR FORMING UPPERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Au. 3, 1915-.

Application filed November 21, 1914. Serial No. 873,395.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRVING W. BLANOHARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in thevcounty of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Machines for Forming Uppers of Boots and Shoes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines used in themanufacture of boots and shoes'for the purpose of forming the upper materials, or portions thereof, in substantially the shape desired for the finished shoe before the upper has been brought into assembled rela tion to the materials that constitute the bottom portions'of the shoe. Machinesof this class are applicable to the manufactureof shoes of different types, but find their pr1ncipal use at the present time in the manufacture of stitch-down shoes, in'which the upper is provided with an out-turned flange to receive the stitches or other fastenings by which the upper is secured to the sole. Such machines are disclosed, forexample, in United States Letters' Patent No.

shaping the forepart of the upper, and according to the practice therein disclosed the marginal portion of the upper at the toe end is confined between members that impart the necessary pressure to form the outturnedflange, and while the margin is thus subjected to pressure the unconfined portion of the blank is operated upon by a toe former which imparts to the blank the shape desired for the forepart of the vamp in the finished shoe. This toe forming operation obviously requires a fullness of that portion of the material bounded by the clamped margin, and by reason of the variation in contour at different parts of the toe of the shoe, there will-be a corresponding variation in the amount of material required for shaping different portions. In order to avoid unduly straining or tearingthe blank,

therefore, it is necessary to provide for some ings and pointed out in the claims.

mai -ids of the operation of the toe former.

The machines disclosed in the patent and the application above mentioned accordingly have provision for suitable compensating movement of the flange portion of the upper materials, which is effected by providmg clamn members with portions that are movable substantially in the plane of the clamped margin of the blank to guide and impart to the different portions of the blank at the margin movements in suitable directions and of suflicient extent to meet substantially the demands of the toe former and insure the formation of a smooth toe without subjecting any portion of the material to excessive strains. I 1 a This invention, in its more particular aspect, relates to apparatus for shaping the forepart or toe portion of shoe uppers, and especially to mechanism such as referred to above for guiding and imparting to the clamped marginal portion of the blank the requisite compensating movement.

An object is to effect improvements in mechanism hitherto employed or proposed for this purpose, and to insure positive control and suitable movement of the blank margin to produce a smooth and well formed toe of the desired shape.

eluding certain details of construction and combination of parts, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawlhc invention is illustrated as embodied in mechanism suitable for use as part ofthe machine shown and described in the pending application above referred to, only such portions of the machine being shown herein as are necessary for an understanding of the present invention. It will be understood, however, that with obvious changes the mechanism shown may be adapted for use in apparatus such as illustrated in the above 100 mentioned patent to Karl Engel, or in other machines or apparatus of the like general class. In the draw1ngs,'F1gure 1 1s a perspective View, with portions broken away, of appa- 105 ratus in which the invention is embodied; Fig. 2 is a plan, view of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 with parts removed; Fig. 3 is a plan view with portions remo ed and other portions broken away, 11

. s 5 The several features of the inventlon, in v the apparatus at the end of an operation upon a-blank; Fig. '4 is a vertical'section on the line 44 of Fig. 3 and Figs. 5 and 6 show detached parts in detail.

The means for confining and operating upon the marginal portion of the blank comprisescooperating relatively movable damp members of which the member 2, shown partly by dotted lines'in F 1, is formed with a-smooth face to engage the upper. or

- finished side of the material and is arranged for movement in a Wellknown manner toward and from clamping position with reference to the cooperating clamp member, to be described, which is arranged to engage the margin of the'material upon its lower or unfinished surface. The lower clamp member includes a base f constructed for attache ment to the machine in suitable cooperative relation to the upper clamp member 2 and supporting a plate 6' which is mounted for sliding movement forwardly and backwardly thereon. Overlying a portion of the plate 6 and retained in position by headed bolts .8 which aresecured to the base t is a plate 10, one function of whichis to assist in retainingand guidingthe'plate 6 for sliding movement in Lt-predetermined pathupon the base'l. The member 6 is slotted .at 12 to receive the bolts 8, and has secured upon its opposite sides bars ll whichv overlap the edges of'the plate 10 and thus serve as additional means toguide the memberin its movements..- The'member-6 is moved rearwardly and retained normally in its rearmost position by springs 16, the-ends of which are connected respectively to said member and to the base 4, and is moved forwardly byimechanismwhich it is, unnecessary for an understanding of the present invention to describe in detail, but including pushers'18carried by a bar 20, the construction and operative relation of these parts to other portions of the machine being more fully disclosed in the pending application previously referred to. .7 V

In. the upper surface of the plate 6 are formed a series of slots 22 which are arranged to converge toward the body of the blank to be operated upon and extend out- Wardly in divergent directions toward the outer edges .of the plate. The central or foremost slot ofthe series, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, extends in parallel relation to the line of movement of the member 6, and in this slot is mounted a bar 24: provided with teeth for engaging and positioning the mar:

' gin 'ofthe toe blank atits front end. The

plate 10 is providedwith a pin 26 which en-' ters a socket in the bar 24 and serves to retain the bar. in a stationary position irrespective of movementof the member 6. In

the other slots22, which are disposed in angular relation to the line of movement others to enable them to secure a more eifec tive hold upon the material. By reason of V the arrangementof the slots 22 the member 6 thus provides Wedgeshaped portions 34 which separate the several slides from one another and also the bar2fl from the. slides which are adjacent thereto. i Each of the slides 28 is provided also witha projection 30 which enters a slot 32 in the stationary plate 10, this slot, as shown in Fig. 3, being curved to conformsubstantially to the contour of the edge of the toe blank.

From the above description it will be evig dent that the plate6, which serves to sup port the slides 28 as well as thebar 24:, will,

upon movementthereof, impart simultane- Y ously to the severalslides. movements which will be controlled by the engagement of the p'ro ectlons 30 in the slot32 of the plate 10.

The tendency of the member 6 is to carry the several slidesforwardly with it, but the slot 32 directs and to some extent prevents such forward movement, causing-the slides to travel'in a path conforming substantially to the contour of the edge of'theblank. It will be apparent-that the slides which areadjacent to the stationary bar 2% atppposite sidesthereof have thesmallest component of; forward movement but arecrowded over toward; the bar by the action of the wedge shaped members ii-and thus serve to gather the material at the margin of the blank at opposite sidesof the'bar. Similar gathering movement ,of the material takes place hetween the membersof each'pair of adjacent slides, and since the slides are spaced at substantially equal distances from one another after, aswell as before, the forward movement of their supporting member 6, as

shown by comparison of Figs. 1 and 3, it;

will be understood that the material is gathered uniformly along the margin, and that each, slide moves ,a greater distance, and

therefore faster than the slide which is immediately'in advance thereof. Thermaterial at the sides of. the blank is thus moved'for- Wardly and inwardly, toward the toe end simultaneously with thegathering of the material along the margin,ethereby providing the requisite amount of fullness in the blank to permit the formation'of a smooth 7 toe'by the operation of the toe former 36.

The operation of the described mechanism takes place after a blank which is to be molded in the form of atoe with an outturned flange has been adjusted and clamped at its margin between the cooperating clamp members. The 11 8 OrIner 36 is then raised and together with the carrier20 is moved forwardly to shape the toe. During this forward movement the plate 6 also is advanced by the pushers l8 and causes movement of all the slides 28 simultaneously in the manner previously described, thereby effecting with accuracy and precisionsuch gathering and compensating movement of portions of the blank as to meet the demands of the toe former and permit the formation of a smoothly shaped toe without excessive strain upon the material. After these operations the different parts of the mechanism are retained in the toe shaping relation illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 a sufficient time to permit the materials to set in the form in which they have been molded. The toe former and the carrier 20 are then retracted and the clamp members separated so as to release the work, thereby permitting the plate 6 and the slides to be returned by the springs 16 to the positions indicated in Fig. 1.-

Although the invention has been described as embodied in mechanism in which the slides have their operative movement simultaneously with the operative movement of the toe former, it should be understood that in the broader aspects ofthe invention it is immaterial at what particular time the compensating movement is imparted to the marginal portion of the materials and that provision for the operation of the slides before the operation of the toe former is within the scope of the invention.

The term blank or toe blank used in the claims is to be understood as referring generally to the materials which are to be operated upon, such, forexample, as the forepart of an assembled shoe upper; such materials being suitably shaped for use in forming the toe of a shoe, or other like article of manufacture.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In apparatus for shaping a toe blank, a plurality of movable members arranged to engage the blank in a series along the margin thereof, and means for moving said members toward the toe end of the blank, said means being constructed and arranged to impart movement to all of said members simultaneously and to move different members of the series different distances.

2. In apparatus for shaping a toe blank, a plurality of movable members arranged in a series and each-having a portion formed to engage the margin of the blank, and

-means for moving said members in directions to carry their blank engaging portions toward the toe end of the blank, said means being constructed and arranged to impart movement to all of said members simultaneously and to move each of said members a greater distance than the member located directly in front thereof.

3. In apparatus for shaping a toe blank, a plurality of movable members arranged to engage the blank in a series along the margin thereof, and operating means for said members constructed and arranged tomove all of said members simultaneously toward the toe end of the blank and to shorten the distance between adjacent members of the series during said movement so as to gather the material at the margin of the blank.

4. In apparatus for shaping a toe blank, a plurality of movable members arranged to engage the blank in a series along the margin thereof, and means for moving all of said members simultaneously toward the toe end of the blank, said means being con structed and arranged to move each of said members faster than the member directly in front thereof so as to shorten the distance between adjacent members of the series during said movement.

5. In apparatus for shaping a toe blank, a plurality of movable members each having a portion formed to engage the margin of the blank, means for moving the'different members simultaneously at respectively different rates of speed in the direction of the toe end of the blank, andv means for guiding said members to direct the blank engaging portions thereof in a path forming a curve about the body of the blank.

6. In apparatus for shaping a toe blank, a plurality of movable members arranged to engage the blank in a series along the margin thereof, and operating means for said members constructed and arranged to engage each of said members individuallyand to move all of said members simultaneously in the direction of the toe end of the blank.

7. In apparatus for shaping a toe blank, a plurality of members formed to engage the marginal portion of the blank, a support upon which said members are mounted, the support and said members being relatively movable, means for moving the support forwardly, and means operative upon the forward movement of the support for causing relative movement between said members and the support.

8. In apparatus for shaping a toe blank, a plurality of members arranged to engage the blank in a series along the margin thereof, a support upon which said members are mounted, the members being movable relatively to the support and to one another, means for moving the support forwardly, and means constructed and arranged to cause relative approach of adjacent members of the series during the forward movement of the support.

9. In apparatus for shaping a toe blank, a plurality of slides arranged to engage the c c blank'ln a serles along the margin thereof,

a to" upon a movement of the. support, and guiding meansformed to directthe slidesin' a path conforming substantially to the eontour of theblank margin during said'mfoveef theibian athe lides having-projections eX-.

' portion vofthe blank and havinga-slot'sf blank in a series along the margin thereof, forwardly movable support having slots in which the slides are mounted, said slots a forwardly movable support having slots in Which the slides are mounted, said slots being formed to converge tovvard the body of the toe blank, andcontrolling means constructed and arranged to cause the slides to move in a curved path forwardly toward 7 the toe end of the blankand to assume posi-' tions nearer the convergent ends of the slots upon the forward movementof the support.

11'. In apparatus forshapinga toe blank,

a plurality of. slides arranged to engage the blankin a series along the margin thereof,

a forwardly movable support for said slides having Wedge shaped portions arrangedibetween the slides to impart movement therem ent thereof. I

12, In apparatus for a plate arranged to? underlie-the marginal formed to extend outwardly in divergent directions under. the blank margin, slides v mounted in'isaid 'slots and formed for engagement with the blank, said plate being: forwardlymovable, and means for control ling the slides tolcause their blank engaging portions to remain under the blank margin during said movement of the plate.

gage the sli shaping a toe'blanjk,

movements of the plate.

. 13. In apparatus for shapingwadtoe blank,:. 1

a plate arranged tounderlie the marginal portion of V the blank and having. slots formed to extend outwardly in"divergent directions. under the blank margin, slides mounted in said ,slotsandformed for em gagenient, with the'blank, said plate being forwardly; movable, and'a stationary member arranged to engage the slides to cause relative movement between the-slides and the plate upon the forward movement of the plate; T

14. 111 apparatus for shaping ates-blank,

a plate arranged for rectilinear movement and having slots in its surface disposed in angular relation to the line of movement of the-plate,'slides in said slots formed to en gage the margin of the blank, and a stationary' controlling member arranged to enplate.

15. a plate arm nged for rectilinear 'movement and having slots in its surface disposed in,

has during-the movement of the- In apparatus for shaping a toe blank, I

angular. relation tothe line of'movementfof' the-"plate, slides in said 'slots formed to "en gage'themargin of the blank, and astation controlling member above said-plate formed with a; slot leurved to-eonformsub-j stantially to jthe contour of the 'margin of tending vvithin ns aid slot" to; determine the path. ofmovement of the slides during the In'testimony whereof I have signed my name to specificationin the presence-0f I tyvo' itnesses;

"W. 'BLl-rNCHARD-i,

, Gopies'ot this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gomm i'slsione'r of Patents. 1

- Y WaShing tonJLOF 4 c v 

